A City In Need Of Saving
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: Greendale is overrun with crime, and Annie and Jeff are the two superheroes to save it. An alternate reality where everyone is a superhero or a supervillain
1. Chapter 1

**This story is set in an alternate world where Greendale is filled with super heroes and villains. While the main focus is on Jeff and Annie most regular characters will make either actual appearances or be mentioned. Most characters have code names for their costumed personas, but it shouldn't be that hard to guess who's who. It will be a multipart story and to be safe I'd say it will be rated a "hard" T. **

**I in no way own the wonderful show or characters of Community. **

Annie's senses were on full alert as she walked the darkened streets of Greendale. In the last four months the crime rate had almost tripled. It had been bad before, when El Tigre was still on the streets and Miss Statistics was still active. But with the arrival of The Pusher things had gone from bad to worse real fast.

A soft splash was heard as she stepped in a puddle. As she lifted her boot covered foot she looked at her reflection. She had changed her costume last month to reflect her new darker mood. While before it had been very cutesy with lots of pink it now composed of black and dark purple leather. But she still kept her red eye mask. In spite of all the changes she didn't feel right unless she kept some part of her original outfit.

It had been hard to change her outfit at all. Pierce had made it especially for her. And even after he was gone she still felt like he was with her every time she put it on. But she wasn't the same girl she had once been, and she needed the world to know that. It seemed strange though that of all the villains she had fought it would be a hero that would harden her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts as she suddenly heard a loud moan. She looked to her right as two men lumbered out of the ally. As soon as she saw them she knew they were in the thrones of addiction. Their eyes bulged in their sockets and their skin was yellow with veins practically pushing out of their bodies. Two more victims of The Pusher, she though sadly.

"Listen." she said as they circled her. "I know it looks bad, and all you can think about is getting a fix. But I can help you." They licked their cracked lips as she slowly pulled out the syringe gun Meta had given her. "This will take the craving away. If you just-"

Before she could finish they lunged at her. She jumped in the air and roundhouse kicked the smaller guy in the face. He fell to the ground as the second one zigzagged to the right and grabbed her from behind, biting into her shoulder. Luckily the leather from her outfit stopped him from breaking the skin. She snapped her head back and cracked him in the face. As he staggered back she spun around and pressed the gun into his neck, injecting him with the detox serum. He crumbled to the ground as the first guy got back up. He charged forward, swinging his arms wildly at her. Annie blocked his blows as she punched him repeatedly in his chest and stomach. As he made a move to bite her she swept his leg out from under him, taking him down. As he fell on his back she dropped to one knee and injected him with a dose of serum. He cried out a gurgled yell as his body relaxed.

Annie got to her feet and looked down at the man, hating that he had reached this state. Four months ago a costumed man named The Pusher appeared in Greendale and declared that he had the answer to everyone's problems. He had a pill called sunshine that would take away everyone's worries and have them live their lives in peaceful bliss. As it turned out sunshine was pretty much a pill version of heroin crossed with ecstasy. And it was ten times more addictive. Once you got hooked the need for the drug took over your life. Users who went without it for too long deteriorated into a zombie like state, like these two had clearly reached.

Because the need for sunshine was so high people were doing everything they could to feed their habit. Muggings and robberies happened so frequently the police didn't even listen anymore when someone reported a crime. Not a day went by where you didn't hear of someone being murdered by a dog (what people had nicknamed those who reached the zombielike withdrawal state.) In spite of all their best efforts there was no way all the heroes of Greendale could keep up with it all. Annie had been running on only a couple hours of sleep a night for the past month and it still wasn't enough to stop it all. She knew, as well as everyone else, that the only way to stop this madness was to find out who The Pusher was and take him down.

"That was impressive."

She turned towards the vocal source as a tall man in black and silver spandex and a silver eye mask jumped down from a fire escape. He smiled at her as he ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "I was going to step in if you needed help, but you seemed to have a handle on the situation."

"Jef-." She quickly stopped herself from saying his name out loud. It was dangerous to say a costume hero's real name. Someone could overhear it and track them down when they were at their most vulnerable. Poor Neil had been slaughtered in his sleep after Vicki called him by his real name once when they were both patrolling.

"ATL (short for Above The Law). It's been a while."

"Yes it has Bright Eyes. You're looking good. I like you as a redhead. "

Annie groaned as she self consciously ran her fingers through her hair. She had dyed it red when she changed her costume as a way of showing that she was a new woman. It did mean that she had to wear a brown haired wig when she was in her civilian clothes so no one could guess she was the crime fighter Bright Eyes. But in her eyes it was worth it. And anyway, these days she patrolled so often she was her costumed persona more often than her secret identity.

Jeff walked towards her and raised his hand as if to run his fingers through her hair. She slapped his hand away before he could touch her. "Stop that. You lost your right to touch me when we broke up, remember?"

Jeff looked at her without any of his usual charm. If anything his face was etched in sadness over his decision to end things between them. As she looked back at him angrily he walked away from her and inspected the two thugs she had taken out.

"Bright Eyes, they're dead."

She spun around in shock and checked them for herself. They were indeed dead. Jeff looked at her like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I thought you had a strict no kill policy, where you only used lethal force as a last result. I know our breakup was rough but-"

"I didn't kill them!" She yelled as she looked at the syringe gun. "It must have been the serum. Meta said that if someone has been using for too long the shock of detoxing could kill a person. Obviously that's what happened here."

Jeff walked over and tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. "How could you think that? What happened between us sucks, but I'm not going to go around blindly killing people just because I'm mad at you. You broke my heart, not my morals."

Before he could respond they both heard someone yell out "Popalock!" They both looked up as a man on a flying broomstick flew over their heads. He had on yellow spandex and a hood with green P's all around it, and several holes in the back for his dreadlocks to flow freely. "Looky what we have here. Looks like someone needs to be poped."

"Hello Popster!"

He yelled out in anger at Jeff's insult. "It's Pop Pop. POP! POP!" As he said the last words he raised his hands as glowing balls of light shot out of his white gloved hands. Jeff pushed Annie to the ground and shielded her as balls of light exploded all around them. He pulled her up and took her hand as they ran away from the flying madness.

"POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!" He screamed at them as he fired exploding light balls in every direction. Jeff and Annie ran as fast as they could, but he was gaining on them. Just before he could reach them a black car with tinted windows roared out of the side street and spun to a stop in front of them. The door opened and a black masked figure stuck his head out. "Get in!" Jeff and Annie dove into the back seat before they had a chance to react. As soon as they slammed the door shut the car sped down the road.

As they got their bearings Jeff saw that their savior was Meta. "What are you doing here? I thought you were done with all this?"

"No time to explain right now. We're still being chased by the Happy Potter reject." They all cringed as light balls exploded on the roof of the car. "Hang on!" Meta yelled as he stepped on the gas, driving faster than a NASCAR racer. The car sped down the streets as Pop Pop soared after them in the air.

They drove for a tense ten minutes before Meta drove into a long tunnel. As they entered the tunnel he flipped a switch on the dashboard and a piece of the tunnel wall lifted up. Before Pop Pop could reach the tunnel they were in the hole and the wall had fallen back into place.

Meta killed the engine and stepped out of the car, followed quickly by Annie and Jeff. As they looked around Meta turned to them and cleared his throat. "These tunnels run all throughout Greendale. It makes it easier to get around. There's a lot I have to tell you two, but not here. Follow me."

He turned and led the way, with Annie and Jeff close behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Makes yourselves at home."

Jeff and Annie looked around the underground apartment/lair. They hadn't had a chance to visit his new place since his apartment had been bombed two months ago. Despite the labyrinth feel it was surprising spacious and homey.

"Thanks Meta. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't-"

"It's ok Annie; you can call me Abed here. This place has been outfitted with all kinds of surveillance equipment, anti bugging devises, radar and sonar jammers. It's a complete safe haven.

As he pulled off his mask Annie rushed forward and hugged Abed tightly. After a few moments he hugged her back. As she pulled away Jeff approached him. He held out his arm as if to shake Abed's hand before he changed his mind and hugged him, grateful to see his friend.

"Abed, Aaron wants you to tell him a bedtime story-"

The three of them looked around as Shirley walked into the living room. As soon as she saw them her face lit up with happiness. "JeffAnnie." She ran over to them and embraced them both in a giant two person hug. "Oh, it's been too long. How are you both?"

"We're good Shirley."

"That's nice. Although I hope Jeff you've come to your senses and decided to grovel-"

Abed loudly cleared his throat and Shirley reluctantly let the issue go. They all glanced at each other awkwardly before they all heard a small voice say "Daddy." They turned as Shirley and Abed's three year old son Aaron walked into the room. He was holding a teddy bear and seemed to be willing himself to stay awake.

"Hey there champ." Abed went over and scooped Aaron up. "Look who came to visit. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Annie."

Aaron waved to them before looking at his father. "Can you tell me a bedtime story? The one about the bug spaceship and the girl named River."

Smiling at his son's request Abed told them he would be back in a little bit before walking out of the room. Shirley gestured to one of the couches as she sat on the one opposite them. Jeff and Annie sat down on the loveseat, glancing at the closeness of their positions as they took their masks off.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around Shirley."

"Oh, it's ok Annie. I know you've been busy with patrolling. Truth be told I'm glad there are people out there trying to stop this madness. I make sure Aaron is always in my arms if we have to go out. Those zombie/dog people seem to increase every day."

Jeff looked around the room, noticing her outfit in a glass case against the wall. "Do you ever miss it? Being out there?"

"Not often. It was an easy decision to make once I became pregnant. I didn't want something happening to either of us and have our son grow up without one or both of his parents. But, every once in a while…" She glanced at her costume with a mournful look on her face.

"You were one of the best marksmen I ever saw. And you definitely had guys turning heads in that outfit of yours."

"Jeffrey!" She glared at him before letting out a laugh. "I guess it's nice to be paid a complement." She sighed deeply. "It's been harder for Abed. I know he wishes he was still out there patrolling with you guys. Especially after what happened to Troy."

The mood in the room changed as they thought about their friend lying in the hospital. Annie couldn't stop from trembling and didn't pull away when Jeff wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Has there been any change since the last time we saw him?"

"Sadly no. Abed and I visit every other day and he's still the same. The doctors said the longer someone is in a coma the less likely they'll come out of it. I told them Jesus was dead and he turned out all right, so don't tell me to give up hope!" She closed her eyes for a moment as she calmed down. "I just hate Pusher and what he's doing to everyone. If it wasn't for him Troy would never have been attacked by those addicts."

Jeff shifted uncomfortably as Abed walked back into the room. "Aaron's tucked in and sound asleep." He sat down next to Shirley and kissed her before turning towards Jeff and Annie. "Like I said before, there's a lot I have to tell you. But before I tell you two anything there's something you need to know. And this is going to be a shock to you. But-"

"Where'd you guys put the shampoo I asked you to pick up for me?" They all fell silent as Ben Chang walked into the room. "Oh, hey everyone. I didn't know you had company."

While Jeff was shocked it was nothing to how Annie felt. As soon as she saw him she went to seething instantly. "YOU!" Before Jeff could stop her she leapt up and tackled him, tightly wrapping her hands around his throat.

"Annie, stop!" Shirley cried as she tried to pull Annie off Ben. But Annie had a death grip and refused to let go. "Stop, you don't understand."

"He killed Pierce! He stabbed him to death and laughed as he died. I'll kill him. I should have killed him before."

"Annie, he didn't kill Pierce. He isn't El Tigre."

"Yes he is Abed! I unmasked him myself! It's him!"

"Annie, stop!" Jeff grabbed her shoulders and with the combined effort of himself, Shirley and Abed they pried Annie off of Chang. Jeff held onto Annie as Ben gasped for air. "Abed and Shirley wouldn't have Chang here unless they had a good reason. Let's listen to what they have to say."

"It's my fault. I wanted to tell you and show you proof before you saw Chang. I didn't think he'd come barging in here. Just hold on a minute." Abed left the room and returned a minute later with a photograph, which he gave to Annie. "This should explain things."

Annie took the photo as she and Jeff looked at it, trying to make sense of what they were seeing. The picture was of two young men both around end of high school age. One of them was Chang. But the man next to him was also Chang.

"I don't understand."

"That's my brother." Chang said hoarsely as he massaged his neck. "My twin brother Bernard."

Jeff looked at the photograph in astonishment. "You have a twin brother?"

"Remember how I said I absorbed my twin in utero. I lied. The truth is he was born and I had a twin brother growing up. I never told anyone because; he's not a good person. He came back to Greendale and kidnapped me, keeping me locked in a basement while he assumed my identity."

"Wait a minute. So that psycho who taught us at Greendale was your brother?"

"No Winger, that was me. He took my identity just after you all graduated, when everyone started becoming costumed crime fighters. I really missed out."

"So, your brother is actually El Tigre? He committed all those crimes and was in jail this whole time?"

"I thought you were smart Annie. Do you really think he would go to jail? The second he was put in prison he has someone sneak me in to take in place. No one knew he existed so they just thought I was going crazy when I tried to tell everyone the truth.

"Look, I know I'm not perfect and can be a bit Changy. But I would never kill Pierce or do any of the terrible things Bernard's done in my name. I want to see him pay for all of this."

"I've been trying to keep tabs on The Pusher's whereabouts for a while now. Three months ago I saw on a video feed that he was talking to someone in a trench coat and fedora just outside a lab. After enhancing the image I could just make out that the person was Chang. Since there were no reports of Chang escaping from prison I paid him a visit and he told me the truth. It took some time, but I finally did enough digging to where I believed him. Two nights ago I 'resurrected' Meta and broke Chang out of prison."

Jeff stared at Abed as he tried to make sense of all of this. "You broke Chang out of prison? How come we haven't heard any of this?"

"The police are trying to keep it under wraps for now. There's enough going on without adding hysteria by declaring that another supervillian is out on the streets. Though truth be told he never left them. Well, now that you know this, there are some things I have to show you."

They all followed Abed into his office, which more resembled mission control with all the computers and other equipment. Jeff, Annie and Ben stood back as Shirley and Abed took seats at their work stations. "Shirley, can you bring up the El Tigre/sunshine file." As Shirley typed away Abed brought up a file on his own screen. "Ever since The Pusher arrived I've been finding out as much as I could about him and sunshine. It seems the euphoric effects one feels on the drug are simply meant to distract people from the change. The true purpose of the pill is to gradually turn people into the zombielike animals they become. The drug binds to their DNA with each dosage, and when they consume enough they become mindless fiends. Once they become zombielike they're always like that. Taking the drug after they change simply acts like a tranquilizer. That's why the cure I've developed is only effective if it's used when someone has first reached their 'dog' state. After enough usage the drug is too much a part of someone and removing it causes death."

"Here it is Abed."

Abed smiled at Shirley as he gestured to her screen. "It seems The Pusher wasn't the only one who developed sunshine. He came up with the euphoric effects, but the transformation aspect was developed by El Tigre. They've been working together this whole time."

"He was always messing around with chemicals and science stuff in our basement. As if women ever went for nerds. No offence man." Chang's face grew uncomfortable as everyone looked at him. "Sorry."

"As I was saying. El Tigre came up with the metamorphosis element of the drug. Which explains what he has done to himself since going into hiding. This is him before he put Chang in jail." Abed pointed as Shirley brought up an image of El Tigre, who looked like Chang in an orange and black striped leather outfit with medal claws attached to his gloves. "And, this is what he looks like now. This picture was taken of him just last night."

As they looked at the image Jeff thought Abed had to be playing a joke on them. They had to be looking at a picture from a movie set or something. The thing on the screen wasn't a man. It looked like some kind of man/cat hybrid that was standing upright.

"Wait, you're not telling us that that is…"

"It's him. It seems El Tigre spliced his DNA with that of a actual tiger's. He's now a cross between a man and a tiger. He has the strength and speed of three men and real tiger claws and teeth. Remember that particularly horrible attack on that couple last week. It wasn't addicts. It was El Tigre. He's been hunting people and eating them."

Annie covered her mouth as her stomach turned and she forced herself not to vomit. She had experienced a lot of sick things since she started her crime fighting crusade. But this was beyond anything she could imagine. Abed looked at her as if to stop but she shook her head and gestured for him to keep going.

"There's more players in this whole thing. It turns out Pop Pop isn't just committing random acts of terrorism. He's working for The Pusher. He was hired to create chaos as a way to distract people so The Pusher could continually change his base of operations and not be noticed when he moves. And we found out who's been funding this whole thing."

"I bet its Spreck." Jeff said. "He has the money and he was bankrolling that crime ring Duncan and Whitman were running."

"No, it's not Spreck." Abed pulled up an image on his screen of an attractive thirty something woman in a black body suit lined with percentages holding a bullwhip. "Meet the one who's been bankrolling everything: Miss Statistics."

"Slater!" Annie cried out. "She's involved in this?"

"She's been funding the whole operation. She's been mostly working behind the scenes since she went off the radar, but she's definitely involved. "

"Um, Abed." Chang said. "Do you think you can send me a copy of that photo? You know, to help me sleep at night." He ignored Annie and Shirley's groans of disgust as he looked hopefully at Abed.

"Chang, keep things in perspective. They'll be plenty of time to enjoy Michelle's obvious hotness later." Jeff said. "Abed, what else do you know?"

"Like any good story teller I've saved the best for last. I've managed to find out who The Pusher really is." With a simple click Abed brought up the image of a man who had died almost six months ago.

"RICH!" Annie yelled. "It can't be."

"Yes it can Annie. I always knew that being perfect thing was all an act. I was right and no one believed me."

"I'm not saying it can't be him because of how he acted Jeff. I'm saying it can't be him because he's dead."

Abed held up a hand to silence Jeff and Annie's bickering. "It seems Rich faked his death and went underground, teaming up with Slater and Bernard Chang to create the sunshine pill. He then reemerged as the supervillian The Pusher to flood the market with his drug. I should have seen it coming. I might be losing my touch."

"Losing your touch? Abed, you figured out this whole scheme and who all the players are. You're a genius. Oh, and you too Shirley." Annie said as Shirley loudly cleared her throat.

"So now Rich is behind it all. We have to find him. Him and all of them. They all have to pay. For what happened to Pierce and Troy and all the other victims. They have to pay and we have to stop this whole thing."

Annie didn't seem to notice that everyone was looking at her. She had a mad glint in her eyes that unnerved everyone. Jeff looked at her as her face grew more desperate. "Annie, we all want to stop them. But you're getting carried away."

"I can't let this keep going on. If it wasn't for Rich and his drugs Troy would never have been attacked. I won't let another person go unpunished for my friends being attacked. I'm personally going to make Rich pay, along with El Tigre."

"You guys!" Jeff and Annie quieted down as Shirley yelled at them. "If you calm down for a moment we'll tell you what we're working on. We've already called Britta and she's coming back to help."

"Britta's coming back." Jeff said. "I thought the mayor said if Anarchy was spotted in Greendale she would be shot on sight."

"She said it's a risk she'll take. If we're going to war she wants in. Ok, that's all we know for now. If you'll all go to the kitchen I'll make some tea and heat up some brownies I made this afternoon."

"Jeff, may I have a word." Jeff hung back with Abed as Annie, Shirley and Chang walked out of the room. Once the three of them were gone Abed lowered his voice. "I think it's time to tell Annie the truth."

"No way." Jeff whispered. "We swore that we wouldn't tell anyone what actually happened. That we were the only ones who knew The Pusher wasn't responsible for what happened to Troy."

"I know, and I kept our secret, even though I hate lying to my wife. But you saw Annie. She's consumed by vengeance. She has to know at least one thing wasn't responsible because of them. It might ease her thirst."

"It doesn't matter. The one responsible for what happened is dead. I saw to that."

"I know. We both have a hand in her death. After what happened to Troy I wanted vengeance as much, if not more, than you did. And it was safer to lie to Annie then for her to know the truth. But I'm afraid if she associates everything with The Pusher and El Tigre she's going to do something drastic. She's not like us. Unlike you me and Britta she's vowed not to kill unless there's no other choice. But, we both know it's going to be hard enough for her to control herself when confronting El Tigre. Maybe the truth will stop her from wanting to deliver the final blow to Rich also."

Jeff looked down as he swallowed back a lump in his throat. "She's going to hate me when she finds out what I did."

Abed tilted his head to the side. "I thought you said it was safer if she hated you. Isn't that why you broke up with her?"

"Yes, but I never stopped loving her. I always thought that someday, when all this was over, I could win her back. But if I tell her what I did she'll never want to be with me."

"That might happen. But you have to tell her the truth about what happened with Troy. You might lose her, but she won't lose herself."

With that Abed walked out of his office. Jeff stayed there for a few moments before joining everyone in the kitchen.

**This chapter was longer then I intended it to be, and was mostly filled with dialogue and exposition. I promise the next one will have much more action. **


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't believe this. I've been trying to figure out who The Pusher is for months and suddenly Abed and Shirley figure it out just like that."

It was a few hours later. After having tea and brownies Annie and Jeff left Abed and Shirley's home to continue patrolling. After walking the streets looking for trouble they climbed onto a roof to get a better view of things.

"I doubt they figured it out just like that An-Bright Eyes. It seems like it took a while for them to get as far as they did. And also, they're retired. They have time to devote purely to research. We can only do so much when we're also out here protecting the city."

Annie scowled as she nodded her head in emphasis. Jeff tried not to smile at her expression. Or tell her how hot she looked in her new outfit. God he missed her. In spite of all the insanity they faced every night everything just felt right when they were together. He knew he did the right thing by ending things. After Troy's attack he knew it wasn't safe for them to be together anymore. And even if that wasn't the case he knew she would hate him if she found out what he did to Troy's attacker. But right now all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her.

Annie turned her head as she caught him looking at her. "What?"

"Nothing. You've got something on your face." Jeff lied. Right now he wanted any excuse to touch her. He reached out and gently brushed the imaginary dirt off her cheek. As he touched her she gently took hold of his hand as they looked into each other's eyes.

"You're not trying to do the Hawthorne stare on me are you Bright Eyes?"

"Nope. We both know I wouldn't have to go that far to control you, ATL."

"I'll say. That outfit alone would make me follow you into hell."

Ignoring the voices in each of their heads telling them how bad of an idea this was they kissed. It started out gently but quickly increased with passion with each passing moment.

Before it could progress any further they pulled away as a light ball exploded at their feet. They looked up in the sky as Pop Pop soared towards them. "Thought you could get away from the one mad party machine. Well you're about to be crossed off the guest list."

Glancing at each other they steadied themselves on the gravel covered rooftop. Annie pulled out a pair of Sais as Jeff unstrapped his bow staff. Screaming Annie ran forward and slashed at his broom. Pop Pop swerved out of the way and fired light balls at her, just missing as Annie dove to the ground. She rolled away and jumped to her feet as Jeff circled around and hit Pop Pop in the back with his staff. Pressing a button he spring released a blade that was attached to the end of his staff. Jeff thrust his staff forward as he tried stabbing Pop Pop, but he was too fast on that damn broom of his.

Pop Pop soared upwards and dived, continually throwing light balls at Annie. As she jump danced out of the way he fired a barrage right at her chest. "Annie!" Jeff screamed as he threw himself in front of her. He yelled out as one of the balls exploded on his shoulder, causing him to fall onto his knees.

"Jeff!" Annie screamed as she pulled him out of the way as another bunch of light balls exploded all around them. She looked up as Pop Pop laughed and soared up in the sky, preparing to dive bomb them again.

"Hold on. I'm going to do something really stupid."Annie got up and braced herself for what was about to happen. Just as Pop Pop came within reach she jumped up and threw herself onto his broom, jamming one of her Sais on the handle to hold herself on.

Keeping a tight hold on the Sai attached to the broom she swung the other one at Pop Pop. He violently thrashed around as he tried to throw her off. "Get off me Bitch!" He raised a hand to fire energy balls at her face. Just as they fired she knocked his hand over his other one, causing both hands to burst into flames. He screamed and tried to tear his gloves off as Annie stabbed her free sai through the broom handle. The broom violently bucked and Annie was thrown off it. Still holding onto her remaining sai she crashed onto the roof. She looked up as the broom zoomed forward towards some electrical wires. Pop Pop just had time to scream as he hit the wires. Annie looked away as the sizzling smell of burned flesh filled the night air. She glanced back just in time to see Pop Pop's lifeless body fall downward and crash in the street.

Taking no more notice of their deceased attacker Annie ran to Jeff. He was groaning and holding onto his badly burned shoulder. "Jeff, hold on. I've got you. Just hold on."

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Here, I've got you."

It was half an hour later and Annie had managed to get Jeff back to her apartment (she hated that she now thought of it as her apartment and not their apartment). They usually changed before going home but there wasn't time for any usual cautionary measures now. She dumped him in a chair as she took deep breaths to steady herself.

"Why are we….here? Shouldn't I…. be at a hospital?"

"I've got it Jeff. Just take your outfit off and I'll fix you up. Hold on a sec."

When she returned she tried to ignore the fact that Jeff was now clad only in a pair of boxer briefs. "I meant just take off enough to expose your shoulder." She sat in a chair next to him and unscrewed the small bottle in her hands. "This is going to sting." She held the dropper over him as she squeezed drops of liquid on his wound.

"OW!"

"I told you."

"What the hell are you doing…" "Jeff quieted down as he looked at his shoulder. His wound was now almost fully healed. "What is that stuff?"

"Basically a scientific version of Essence of Dittany. Meta made it for me."

"What?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "It's a potion in Harry Potter that regrows skin. You read all the books and saw all the movies with me and you didn't remember that?"

"I have enough trouble keeping track of real life. Excuse me for not remembering something from a fictional world that makes more sense than our actual lives do."

They both looked at each other before laughing, the tension quickly evaporating from the room. As Annie put the lid back on the bottle she looked at Jeff's bare chest and abs, blushing as she remembered all the times her hands had touched his flesh.

"Why did we end things?"

Jeff's smile left his face as he looked at Annie. "I told you why. I thought-"

"No, I know how it ended. I'm just wondering why we did."

"I'm trying to remember, but right now I'm drawing a blank."

They looked at each other before kissing again, this time more forcefully then before on the roof. Never separating their lips Jeff got up and unzipped her outfit, both of them groaning as he pulled it off her. Wrapping her legs around his waist Annie moaned as Jeff carried her to the bedroom, pausing only to kick the door shut.


	4. Chapter 4

Jeff lightly traced his finger around Annie's bare shoulder as he watched her sleep. He thought back to the first time they had spent the night in this bed. He had assumed she was one of those women who would race to put clothes on right after sex, either pajamas or underwear or even a worn t-shirt. But afterwards she had simply snuggled closer to him and drifted off to sleep. He never knew if his assumptions of her were wrong or if she simply was growing more comfortable with herself.

His finger moved downward to the scar above her right breast, a souvenir from her apprehension of El Tigre. As he gently rubbed it he thought of the vow she took when she first decided to become a superhero, to only kill in self defense and never in cold blood. While he often told her she was naive in not realizing that some villains were too dangerous to be simply sent to jail secretly he admired her for the code she set for herself. She had more integrity and strength of character then he did.

Although that integrity was almost broken during that battle. She had been enraged by Pierce's death and went mad in her quest to take his killer down. As she stood over El Tigre with a knife to his throat Jeff begged her not to kill him. That doing this would change her forever. In the end she reluctantly agreed and turned him over to the police. But he never forgot just how close it had been.

As he thought of that he realized that now there were two people she wanted to kill; El Tigre and The Pusher. While he hated Rich and wanted to see him dead he didn't want Annie to have blood on her hands because of that monster. Especially when her main motivation for it was due to the lie Jeff had told her. He might not be able to prevent her from killing El Tigre, but if he told her the truth he might be able to stop her from killing Rich.

As he looked at her he saw her whimper and squirm in her sleep. He guessed she was having a dream. He just didn't know if it was a good dream or a nightmare.

"**Come on Annie. You can do this." **

"**Pierce, I don't think I can." **

**They were standing in the courtyard of Hawthorne manor. Aside from the sky being light purple and a unicorn in the distance, and Pierce sitting on a cloud a few feet above the ground, everything seemed fairly normal. Pierce stepped off his cloud and landed heavily on the ground, wincing as he walked over to Annie. She looked at him with concern. **

"**Didn't that hurt?" **

"**No, no. Just broke my leg. There now, all better. Now, you just have to practice. Oh Kronz! Can you come here for a moment? The lady needs to practice." **

**A disgruntled manservant walked over and stood a few feet in front of Annie. **

"**Now Annie, just stare into his eyes and concentrate. Remember not to squint your eyes and to focus deeply. Focus all of your mental energy into his brain. He is not in control of himself. You are. Concentrate and take away all thought from him." **

**Annie took a deep breath and concentrated, focusing entirely on Kronz. As she looked at him she saw his face become blank and impassive. Pointing a finger at her so she didn't stop Pierce went over to Kronz and pushed him. He didn't react at all. **

**Annie jumped up and down squealing in happiness. Smiling warmly Pierce went over and hugged her. **

"**I'm so proud of you Annie. With a bit more practice you'll be able to do the Hawthorne stare better than I can." **

"**Did you ever teach this to Troy? I've never seen him do it." **

"**Um, no." As Pierce pushed her away to arm length he tried to voice what he wanted to say. He wasn't good with this stuff and this was important. "Troy was a great student. But this…see, the Hawthorn stare is handed down throughout the generations of my family, from parent to child. My grandfather, who learned it from his mother, taught it to my father. My father taught it to me. And now, I teach it to you." **

"**Pierce." Annie's eyes started to tear with emotion at what he was saying. **

"**Annie, I don't have any kids. I never thought I'd have anyone to pass this down to. But when I look at you I see…you're like the daughter I…." **

**Pierce held his hand over his face as he uncharacteristically became overwhelmed with emotion. Annie hugged him tightly, trying to put how touched she was into this simple gesture. She felt his arms wrap around her as he hugged her back. **

**She looked up as the entire world changed around her. She was still in the court yard, but the sky was a stormy black. She looked down and her blood ran cold. Pierce was laying at her feet, blood pouring out of the multiple stab wounds throughout his body. **

"**PIERCE!" She dropped to her knees as she held him. "I'm going to get help. Just hold on while I get help." **

"**Annie…." He took hold of her hand and held it, but a moment later it fell to the ground as the life slipped away from him. Hot tears spilled down Annie's face as she looked down at Pierce's body. **

"**Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Annie looked up and saw El Tigre standing next to her, laughing maniacally. "Oh, what are you going to do? Your sensei is dead and you're not going to do anything." **

"**You have to avenge me." Annie gasped as she looked at Pierce. His eyes were completely rolled back in his head and his body was rotting in front of her. "You have to kill him for killing me. Do not let my death go unpunished." **

"**She won't do it." Suddenly Pierce's body morphed into Troy. He was in a hospital gown and hooked up to various machines. When he spoke to her his voice was strangled and strained. "She doesn't have it in her to kill. She's weak. She won't do what it takes to get justice for those she cares about." **

"**Of course she's weak." Annie looked up and El Tigre had disappeared. Instead Rich in his Pusher outfit stood in front of her. "Why else would you let those who hurt the ones you love get away? You couldn't kill El Tigre. You certainly aren't going to kill me. Maybe I should just save you the trouble of being weak and put you out of your misery. **

**Before she could react he pulled a sword out of nowhere and stabbed her through the chest with it. **

"NO!"

Annie woke up with a start. She looked around, seeing that it was all a dream and that she was back in her apartment. She shook uncontrollably as the memories of the nightmare flooded her mind.

"It's ok, I've got you." As she looked up she realized she was in Jeff's arms. He was holding her tightly, trying to calm her down. "It's ok, it was just a nightmare. You're safe."

"Jeff, I was so scared. I saw Pierce and Troy and…" As she remembered her head became clear and cold determination flooded through her. She pulled away from Jeff and got out of bed. Not caring or not realizing that she was naked she paced frantically, talking to herself. "I can't let them get away with it. I have to make them pay. El Tigre and The Pusher. They're going to pay for what they did."

Jeff looked at Annie with real concern on his face. He had never seen her this worked up before. "Annie just sit down and calm down. You're acting like a crazy person."

She stopped pacing and turned towards him, anger etched on her face. "No Jeff! What's crazy is letting the monsters who hurt the ones we love go free. They have to pay. They have to die and I'm going to be the one who kills them! I let El Tigre live once, I'm not going to do it again! And as for Pusher, he's done enough to this town already! But I won't let him get away with putting Troy in a coma! I WON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT!"

"ANNIE, STOP!" Jeff grabbed her arms and pulled her down on the bed. She squirmed as he held onto her "Annie, listen to me. There's something I have to tell you." He had hoped he could put this off. But he knew the time had come to tell her the truth. "Rich didn't attack Troy."

"Yes he did. Troy said so himself. Just before he lost conscious you said he told you The Pusher was the one who attacked him."

"I lied. The Pusher had nothing to do with Troy's attack." Annie finally stopped struggling as Jeff let go of her. She looked at him as he internally battled the instinct to continue talking or to shut up and run.

"What? You lied to me?"

"I figured it was easier. You already hated The Pusher for turning half of Greendale into drug addicts. I figured pinning it all on him was better than telling you the truth."

She looked at him, her face and voice as hard as steel. "Jeff, tell me what happened."

Jeff swallowed the lump in his throat as he prepared himself to tell her what really happened. "The person who attacked Troy wasn't The Pusher, or anyone who's worked for him. It was Dark Iris. She was the one who did it."

Annie's eyes widened in shock. "Annie Kim. She attacked Troy? Why?"

"You remember how she was. How she made it her mission to be your evil doppelganger. To be the evil version of you. Well, it went deeper than that. She wanted to destroy everything about you, starting with hurting those you cared about. Remember a few weeks before Troy's attack, when you two were patrolling and fought Leonard's boys?"

She nodded as she remembered that night. "Yea. We were at the docks stopping them from delivering a gun shipment. One of them knocked me in the head and threw me in the water. Troy fished me out and had to give me mouth to mouth. He saved my life. "

"Well, Annie Kim was there also, watching you two from a distance. And to her she thought Troy was kissing you rather than resuscitating you. From that she thought Captain Awesome was involved with Bright Eyes."

Shock crashed through Annie in waves as what Jeff said flowed through her. "You mean…."

"The night Troy was attacked I found him in a warehouse. Before he lost consciousness he told me Dark Iris attacked him to get to you and that this was only the beginning. She would kill everyone Bright Eyes loved before she captured and tortured her to death."

"So it's my fault. What happened to Troy was my fault."

"No it isn't Annie."

"Yes it is Jeff! If I hadn't been thrown in the water Troy would never have had to save me and she would never, wait a minute." Annie suddenly stopped as a sudden memory came to her. "Annie Kim died. She was found dead in an ally, her Dark Iris costume in tatters. "

Jeff looked down as Annie's eyes bore into him. "Jeff, did you kill her?"

"No…..not exactly." He sighed deeply as she continued to look at him. "I knew she wasn't going to stop. She would find you and she would kill you. And I couldn't let that happen. So me and Abed decided on a plan."

"What?"

Jeff turned his head away, unable to look at Annie as he told her this. "We found and captured her, kept her locked up in an abandoned warehouse, and force fed her sunshine pills round the clock for a week straight. By the time we let her go there was no trace of her left. She was nothing more than a wild beast."

Annie pulled away from Jeff, shocked at hearing this. "You…how…I feel sick. How could you do that?"

"Because I couldn't let her hurt you." Jeff said as he looked at Annie again. "I did what had to be done, to protect you."

"That wasn't protection. That was sick and inhuman. You're as bad as they are."

"Annie." Jeff's voice breaking as she literally and figuratively pushed him away from her. "I know it was bad. And I hate myself for it. But I love you. And I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. I'm not you. I don't have that thing inside me that you and Troy and Shirley have. I can't draw a line in the sand and vigorously stay on one side. If I have to I do whatever it takes, what others can't and shouldn't have to do."

"Does Shirley know?" Annie sobbed, tears flowing from her eyes as she cried.

Jeff shook his head. "No she doesn't. Me and Abed swore not to tell either of you what we did. But Abed told me tonight that I had to tell you, because you were becoming obsessed with killing The Pusher. And I couldn't have his blood on your hands over something he never did. Annie, I'm sorry. For everything. For doing what I did to Annie Kim, for breaking up with you to try and project you, for all of it."

As she looked at him through red rimmed eyes the bedroom door violently burst open. Before either of them could react both Annie and Jeff were hit with stun guns. They cried out from the electrical shocks as their bodies tensed up. Jeff's eyes looked around as men in black suits came marching into the room, followed by Miss Statistics. She smiled evilly as she looked down at them. She bent down and kissed Jeff deeply, enjoying the moans of protest from Annie.

"Well Well Well." She cackled as she cracked her whip. "Look at what we found here. The great ATL and Bright Eyes. Oh, I'm sure you're wondering how I knew it was you. You see, there's a reason heroes shouldn't say their real names when they're in costume. You never know who might be listening in. You see, Pop Pop had on a microphone that recorded everything he said and heard so we could keep track of him. And when you two yelled out your real names when he attacked tonight we figured out Annie Edison and Jeff Winger were really Bright Eyes and ATL. Though I had a hard time recognizing you Annie with your new hair. If I swung that way…. "

She turned to her henchmen. "Take our guests and put them in the van. But first get both of them in their costumes. I want the world to see their beloved heroes' dead, not two ordinary people. "

"You sure the boss is ok with that?"

Michelle cracked her whip in the air and wrapped it around the henchman's neck, pulling him closer as he struggled for air. "I am my own boss. Pusher is my partner, not my boss." She gave the whip a hard tug and snapped his neck. He crumpled to the ground as she looked at her men. "Anyone else have anything else to say? No? Then get to work."

Twenty minutes later Jeff and Annie were lead outside, bound and in their superhero costumes. They were pushed into the back of a van as Miss Statistics and her henchmen got in after them. No one noticed the grey cat that looked on at all of this. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the cat, except that on his collar was a tiny camera that was recording everything onto a hand held video screen across the street.

Britta looked away from the screen as she switched on her radio. "Meta, you were right. Bright Eyes and ATL were found out. Miss Sluttistics just put them in a van and drove off. Captain Whiskers is following them. And so am I. Anarchy over and out."

**I should hopefully be writing the exciting conclusion to this tale in the next few days. Also I know Greendale is nowhere near water (as was clearly stated in Beginner Pottery), but for plot purposes of this story I took a bit of creative license.**


	5. Chapter 5

Jeff struggled against his restraints as he looked around the warehouse he and Annie were trapped in, trying to learn as much about their location as he could. There was a glass skylight in the middle of the ceiling high above them. And in front of them was a raised platform, which looked to be about ten feet above the ground.

"Struggle all you want Jeff. Those chairs are bolted to the floor and the robes are Eagle Scout level knotted. There's no way you can escape"

Jeff glared at Michelle as she continually cracked her bullwhip. He knew the odds were stacked against them. They were both tied up and weaponless. Right now Miss Statistics and her many cronies were spread out all around them. And soon they would all be joined by the one running it all: The Pusher. He was well aware that their chances of making it out of here alive were stacked against them.

As Jeff heard moaning from infected people outside he looked over at Annie, who was equally struggling to escape. As cheesy and clichéd as it sounded in his head, the thought of anything happening to her by these monsters ripped him up inside. She was wonderful and amazing and better then anyone he knew. "Annie, listen to me. I don't know what's going to happen. And I just want to tell you-."

"Later Jeff."

"Annie, there might not be a later. I have to tell you-."

"Jeff, later."

As Jeff looked into her eyes he realized what she was actually saying. If they said their last words to each other right now they were essentially accepting defeat and giving up hope. By telling him 'later' she was having them both hold onto the hope that they would get out of this alive, even if that hope was just an illusion. Jeff nodded his head in agreement, though he couldn't help mouthing 'I love you' to her. She smiled sadly and mouthed it right back.

Their moment was broken as Michelle snapped her whip at them, missing Annie's face by an inch. "How touching for you both. Though I should remind you, Miss knows it all, that **I** was the one who was with Jeff first. He only got with you to get over losing me."

"I barely remember our time together Statistics."

Michelle cracked her whip in the air threateningly. "I was there Jeff. I rocked your world."

Jeff chuckled, enjoying that he was able to get under her skin. "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered it if you did."

Just before Michelle could react a loud roar was heard throughout the room. They all turned as El Tigre leaped out of the shadows. As he walked closer Annie tried to control the fear she felt. Before he had been dangerous, but he had at least still been a man. What stood before her was most defiantly not human. Orange and white fur covered his entire body and sharp claws extended from both his fingers and toes. He snarled as he licked his whiskers, revealing a mouthful of long sharp teeth.

He squatted down in front of Annie and ran his fingers over her face, causing her to involuntarily shutter. "Remember me Princess? Maybe not. I've made some improvements since the last time we saw each other. I just want you to know how much I'm looking forward to this. As soon as I heard we were bringing you in I made sure to save my appetite."

Michelle cracked her whip at his feet. "Hey, we wait until Pusher arrives, remember."

El Tigre jumped up and snarled at Miss. Statistics. "I'm not going to eat her now. But I was promised LEFTOVERS!"

"Hey now, that's no way to treat each other. We're about to destroy out enemies. This is a happy time."

They all looked up as The Pusher came into view, walking to the edge of the platform. He was wearing his outfit, a red, white and blue three-piece suit with a blue facemask. Only he would have the audacity to wear the colors of the flag while getting people hooked onto drugs. "Jeff, Annie, so good to see you. It's to bad it had to be under these circumstances, but I'm glad we're all here."

"Rich."

Rich smiled his fake politician's smile as he removed his mask. "Well, you caught me Jeff, so I guess there's no need for masks. Just as well, you're going to be dead in a few minutes anyway so there's no need for me to hide from you anymore." He snapped his fingers. "Miss Statistics men. You're services will no longer be needed tonight. Please leave through the underground tunnel in the other room. And weld it shut so no one else can get in or out that way." Without a word Michelle's men filed out and went into the other room. Michelle looked like she wanted to protest but fell silent as Rich glared down at her.

Rich picked up a hose and turned it on, spraying Annie and Jeff with a clear sticky solution. "Don't worry you two. This is just a very selective adhesive. I wouldn't want you to get messy by having you covered in junk." He wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at Annie, which slid right off her. "See, doesn't stick. Now pharmaceuticals on the other hand." Rich pulled a pill out of his pocket and threw it at Jeff, which stuck to his forehead. "Don't worry, that's just aspirin. What you're about to be covered in however, is not." He pointed upward at the vent above the hero's heads. "Above you is a container holding thousands of sunshine pills. Once you're covered in pills I'm going to let all those people outside who are craving a fix in here. They'll attack you to get to the drugs, tearing you to bits. Elegant isn't it? After months of trying to stop people from getting my drug it will be the very thing that destroys you."

Rich stepped off the platform and landed hard on the ground, with Jeff noticing that he didn't even flinch when he landed. He walked over to them, still smiling his stupid Rich smile. "First off, Annie. I just want to say how much I love your new hair color. You look great as a redhead."

"If I had a razor I'd shave it off right now."

Rich chuckled as Annie glared at him. "That's a bit rude Annie. I was just giving you a complement. Now Jeff, I hate to say it but I can't offer you anything for what is about to happen. I believe a man should face pain fully. But Annie, I have something that I think will help." He grinned as he pulled a prescription drug bottle out of his pocket and shook it in front of her. "I believe you're familiar with Adderall. I figured you'd like some before your life ends. That way you can go out remembering you're no different then those people outside."

Jeff violently thrashed in his chair as Annie looked up at Rich. While there was a time she would have hanged her head in shame at the mention of her past addiction she now held her head up high. "I'm not the one here whose life is ruled by pills. You're the one who's degraded and dead inside. You're more of a monster then those poor souls you're corrupted with your drugs."

The smile left Rich's face as he looked at her. For the first time he didn't look like an impossibly charming individual, but as someone who was truly sick and deranged. "And why should I be the only one? Why should I go around acting like everyone else when inside I feel hollow and empty? She saw to that. Nothing I ever did was good enough for that woman. 'You'll never be as good as your brother. You're nothing compared to him.' I pushed and pushed to be perfect and it was never good enough for that retched woman. She beat and humiliated and belittled me until I felt nothing but rage. No love, no joy, nothing. No matter what I did I could never fill that hollowness inside of me, and could only watch as others lived full complete lives. WELL NO MORE! If I have to be a monster then EVERYNE ELSE WILL JOIN ME!"

Jeff and Annie stared at Rich, shocked into silence at his outburst. Michelle was very unnerved and even Bernard was cowering from him. Rich paced back and forth, clearly lost in his own world. "Greendale is just the beginning. Soon I will flood sunshine in every town in Colorado. Then the entire US, followed by the world. I'm already working on making it completely tasteless and invisible to the eye, so I can use it to spike people's water supply without them knowing. In a few years time everyone on earth will be a mindless rabid monster."

Jeff couldn't help scoffing at Rich. "What are you, a low rent Bond villain? You never tell the heroes your entire plan."

"Well you're about to die in a few moments, so there's no need for me to hold back is there. I mean, look around. No one is rushing in to your rescue."

As he started walking back to the platform Annie felt something brush against her bound wrists and then tug at the ropes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of gray fur, realizing it was Britta's cat Captain Whiskers. She kept her head forward, determined to buy them time. "Wait, Rich. You don't have to do this. We can help you."

"There's no help for me Annie. So don't even try."

"Please. You have options. Therapy, doctors…."

"Hurry Up!" El Tigre roared. "I can't wait much longer!"

Rich marched over and slapped El Tigre in the face. He snapped his teeth as if to bite him but slunk back as Rich glared menacingly at him. "I told you, after they're killed by the addicts you can have whatever is leftover. But DO NOT talk back to me ever!"

As the two men faced off Annie felt the ropes fall from her wrists and ankles, freeing her. She kept her arms behind the chair as Captain Whiskers went over and started chewing through Jeff's ropes. Jeff noticed the cat and kept still as the villains in front of them argued.

"I'm my own man, I don't have to listen to anyone."

"You seem to forget everything I've done for you El Tigre. You might have come up with how to turn people into rapid monsters but I was the one who figured out how to use that knowledge. And in case you forget, it was because of me that you have the power you have now. I'm the one in charge here!"

Just as Jeff's felt his ankles become free Miss. Statistics cracked her whip at his feet. A loud yelp was heard, followed by Captain Whiskers running into the shadows.

"Something's there. We have to-."

Before she could finish she jumped out of the way as a lawn dart narrowly missed hitting her. They looked up to see Britta in the rafters, wearing her red leather Anarchy outfit. "Get away from my cat you bitch." She fired her grappling gun around the rafters and swung to the ground, throwing Jeff his bow staff and Annie a knife and her sia. They jumped from their chairs and grabbed their weapons as Britta landed next to them. "Couldn't handle one situation without my help." She glared at the three villains as she pulled out two handguns. "I've got Statistics." With a yell Britta charged forward and fired at Michelle, who deflected the bullets with the metal gauntlets around her arms. She leapt up and kicked Michelle back, who cracked her whip at Britta, causing her guns to fly through the air. The two women yelled as they continued to fight.

Rich ran to the platform as Jeff ran after him, leaving Annie and El Tigre. The two of them stared at each other, hatred etched on each of their faces. With a snarl El Tigre leaped in the air, arms extended as he tried to claw Annie. She blocked his arms as he jackrabbit kicked her in the chest, leaving deep claw marks in her outfit. Luckily he only shredded leather and not her skin. Barely having time to catch her breath she dived out of the way as he snapped his head forward to try and bite her. She jumped out of the way as he continually jumped forward, slashing at her before leaping back.

Jeff pulled himself up over the ladder and stood on the platform, seeing Rich standing next to a button mounted to a pole at the edge. "Careful Winger. Just one push and your girlfriend is covered in sunshine pills. You wouldn't want to see her attacked now, would you?"

Jeff pulled a knife out from inside his boot and threw it at Rich, who caught it by the handle. Not even trying to hide his surprise at that he dove out of the way as Rich threw the knife back at him. Jeff got up and ran towards Rich, ready to stab him with the blade on his staff. As he reached him Rich kicked Jeff in the chest, causing him to fly through the air and land heavily on the ground. Wincing in pain he saw one of Britta's guns laying next to him. Jeff grabbed it and fired at Rich, who dodged the bullets with impossible speed. Rich smiled back at Jeff as he heard the click of the empty chamber. "You really think with all my knowledge of drug enhancement I wouldn't have make a few upgrades on myself." In the blink of an eye Rich grabbed Jeff by the throat and lifted him up with only one hand. "This is just a taste of what I can do. I could crush your skull with a finger if I wanted. But I don't want you to have a quick death." He threw Jeff to the ground, cracking his neck menacingly as if to show off. Jeff looked over and saw the hose Rich had used earlier. Jeff grabbed it and sprayed Rich, covering him in the same adhesive. Rich looked back at Jeff in anger. "Big mistake." Before Jeff could move Rich kicked him hard in the ribs before straddling him as he repeatedly punched Jeff in the face and body.

Britta jumped back as Michelle's whip wrapped around her extended arm. As she pulled back Michelle gave it a sharp tug and pulled Britta to the ground. Before she could get up Michelle released the whip from her arm and tightly wrapped it around Britta's neck.

"I guess this is the end of prickly brickly." She said as Britta struggled for air. "You should have known this is how it would end. The outcome is always predictable."

"The thing about anarchy." Britta gasped as she activated a switchblade in her boot and stabbed Michelle in her leg. "IT'S UNPREDICTIBLE!" Michelle cried out as Britta pulled her to the ground and wrapped the bullwhip around her neck.

"Game Over."

As Annie jumped back from El Tigre's attacks she realized what he was doing. He was wearing her out until she was too tired to fight. A classic move predators employed in the wild. She was only doing this for a few minutes and she could already feel fatigue setting in. She was good, but she was still human. El Tigre had the stamina of a wild animal.

She knew she would never win the fight like this. There was only one way she could possibly beat him. Forcing herself to become calm she cleared her mind and stared into his eyes. It was hard to do while continually jumping back but she kept staring at him.

"Stop fighting Bright Eyes. You're going to be my dinner tonight." El Tigre laughed. As she looked into his yellow eyes his smile disappeared. "What are you doing?" He felt unease as he stared into her big doe eyes. Animals instinctively felt challenged when someone looked in their eyes. "Stop that!" He tried to look away, but he felt himself unable to. He snarled and slashed at her but she never blinked or moved her head. As she intensified the stare he suddenly stopped moving and looked back at her blankly.

Not breaking the stare Annie raised her weapons as she slowly walked towards him. This is it, she thought. I'm finally going to kill El Tigre. I'm going to get revenge for what he did to Pierce.

His name ran through her head. Pierce. The man who had thought of her like a daughter. Who had taught her the Hawthorne stare, and all the skills she had that enabled her to seek justice. Not just fighting, but how to be a superhero without losing your soul to the madness. Killing rips you apart, he had told her. When I was younger I killed any foe I fought. And now I'm haunted by those actions forever. Learn from my mistakes Annie. Only take a life when it's absolutely necessary. When it's their life or your own.

But he took your life, she painfully thought. How can I let him live after he took you away from me? From all of us?

'Annie, you're better then this.' She stopped moving as she heard Pierce's voice in her head. 'You're better then him. Don't sink to their level'.

Not blinking despite tears running down her face she swallowed the lump in her throat and dropped her weapons. Still staring at El Tigre she took a few steps back and picked up the robe Captain Whiskers had chewed through. You'll rot in jail, she thought. That's what you deserve, to spend your days alone with no one.

Suddenly a loud crash vibrated all around the warehouse, breaking Annie's concentration on El Tigre. Before she could look into his eyes again he roared and leapt towards her. She didn't even have time to pick up her weapons as he dove towards her throat.

BANG!

Annie closed her eyes as she waited for her throat to be ripped out. But it never came. As she opened her eyes she saw El Tigre laying at her feet, blood pouring from the bullet wound in his chest. She looked at him as Britta walked forward and shot him once more for good measure.

"Lets see you get up from that you bastard."

"Britta, thank you. You saved-."

Both woman flinched as another banging crash was heard, following by moaning. They looked over and saw the medal door to the warehouse bent with one of the hinges broken. They then heard a yell from the platform. Jeff was barely hanging on as Rich mercilessly beat him.

"Annie, go! I'll find a way out." Britta said as she fired her grappling gun into the rafters. She gave it a tug as she swung from it, searching for a way out of the warehouse.

Rich grinned as he punched Jeff once more in the face. Jeff's head hung limply to the side as he struggled to remain conscious. "Face it Winger. I'm better then you in every way. You can't beat me." He raised his arm back as he prepared to deliver the killing blow. "At least take comfort that the last moments of your life were spend fighAWAWAWAW!"

Jeff looked through his blood covered face to see the tip of a sai sticking out of Rich's thigh. As it was pulled out he dropped to his knees, revealing Annie standing behind him. She raised her weapons as Rich turned around.

"Get away from him!"

As she brought her weapons forward Rich pulled out a gun and shot Annie.

"ANNIE!" Jeff screamed as she fell back. Ignoring all the pain his body felt Jeff was up in a flash. As Rich prepared to shoot her again Jeff tackled him, causing his gun to fall off the platform. Jeff punched him in the face repeatedly, adrenalin loaded through his system as he beat the psychotic drug dealer. Jeff dragged Rich to his feet and punched him as hard as he could, send him stepping back to the platform's edge. As Rich fell back his arms flung out trying to grab onto something. His hand hit the button on the pole as he fell off the platform. A shower of pills rained down as Rich fell to the concrete floor.

The moaning and banging from outside increased tenfold, but Jeff ignored it all as he knelt next to Annie. "Annie. Annie, don't you leave me. Annie!" Jeff felt the bullet hole in her costume; trying to see how badly she was hurt. As he felt around his fingers brushed against medal. Baffled he pulls his fingers back and saw he was holding a bullet, which had been stuck in her costume. As he looked at it Annie gasped as her eyes opened.

"Annie, you're-." Jeff hugged Annie tightly. "Why didn't you say your costume is bullet proof?"

"It's not."

Jeff looked down at her wound as he gently felt it. While she was bleeding, there wasn't nearly as much blood as he expected. Just then Annie sat up and grabbed Jeff as her lips smashed against his. He grabbed the back of her head as he kissed her back. At that moment the world seemed to dissolve away, where nothing mattered except the fiery passion that rose throughout the two of them.

"You Guys!"

They broke away from their kiss and looked up, seeing Britta above them. She looked down from the hole in the skylight. She grinned before dropping her grappling gun down to them. "Come on, you have to get out of there. Those addicts are going to break in any minute."

"Come on Bright Eyes, climb on." Annie wrapped her arms around the back of Jeff's neck and got on him piggyback style.

"I'm just doing this because I'm injured, not because I'm young or anything." Jeff chuckled as he fired the gun outside the skylight. Checking that the cable was secure he strapped the gun to his belt.

"Help!"

The two heroes looked down at the warehouse floor. Rich was lying on the ground next to one of the chairs, with one of his legs bend over the chair at an impossible angle. He was completely covered in sunshine pills and a piece of leg bone was sticking out where his leg hit the chair. "Help me! I can't move and they'll be in here any minute! I'm going to die! You have to save me! You're heroes! You don't kill people!"

Annie shook her head as Jeff looked at him scornfully. "We're not killing you Rich. You brought this on yourself. We're just not saving you." Without another word Jeff gave the cable a tug and they flew up to the skylight just as the warehouse door burst open.

They tried to ignore the screams from inside as Jeff handed the gun over to Britta. As she fired it over to the roof of a lower building across the street they saw Michelle, tied and gagged. Britta secured the cable, making a zip line out of it. She grabbed Michelle and hooked her bound arms through the cable. "I probably should have killed you. But I'm taking a page out of another crime fighter's playbook. The police can sort you out." She gave her a hard push and sent her flying over to the next building.

Once Michelle was over Britta sailed across the street without a word. "Annie, you go first." She looked at Jeff for a moment before grabbing the cable and sailing over. Jeff glanced down into the street as police cars made their way to the warehouse. Grabbing the cable he slid over to the next building himself.

**This chapter took a very long time to write. But it was a joy every step of the way. **


	6. Epilogue

::Good morning Greendale. I'm Phil Apex with Greendale Morning News. We begin this morning's show with breaking news. The drug ring that has been supplying a psychedelic drug called sunshine to people for months has been destroyed. Police say that they anonymously received evidence last night on who was running the drug scheme and where they're latest base of operations was located.::

"Thank you." Abed said as he toasted the television screen. He sat in his living room with Shirley, Annie, Jeff, Britta and Chang as they all watched the news report.

::The ringleader has been identified as Richard Stephenson, a former doctor who was thought to have committed suicide several months ago. Instead it seems Mr. Stephenson faked his death and has been masquerading as the drug dealer The Pusher. Police found Mr. Stephenson's body late last night in the warehouse he was working out of with bite and fingernail marks all over his body. Police say it appears that he became covered in the sunshine drug and was attacked by addicts as they tried to get the pills for themselves. An autopsy is pending to determine the exact cause of death.::

_::_A second body was found at the scene, one who, as incredible as it sounds, appears to be a cross between a man and a cat. From the evidence that was sent over police say the cat man is El Tigre, the super villain who was thought to be currently incarcerated. Police say that it appears the man El Tigre wasn't Ben Chang as was previously believed, but his previously unknown twin brother Bernard Chang_.:: _

"Yea, in your face!" Chang yelled as he drunkenly swayed on his feet. Jeff pulled him back down on the couch as Shirley hissed at him to be quiet so he wouldn't wake up Aaron.

::While DNA tests are being performed to confirm this, if true Ben Chang will be exonerated and cleared of all charges. A third person has been identified as being involved, former Greendale community college professor Michelle Slater. It appears Miss. Slater was the financial backer, bankrolling the whole operation. She was delivered to police headquarters not long after police arrived at the warehouse. It appears that she has no memory of anything that has happened during the last eight hours.::

They all looked at Abed, and then at Britta, as both of them grinned mischievously. "I made sure to gave Britta something to knock out anyone's memory if there were any survivors."

::A fourth member of the ring has been identified, the villain known only as Pop Pop. Police found his body earlier tonight, where it appears he was electrocuted after flying into cable wires. It is believed his death is unrelated to the warehouse incident.::

::Instructions on how to make a serum that will cure people of their sunshine addiction and bring them out of their rabid doglike state were left with the evidence and hospitals are already making the cure as we speak. The anonymous tipper did specify however that the serum only works on those who first entered their rabid state or are using but have not yet deteriorated to that level, and if someone has been using for too long they run the risk of going into shock and dying if the cure is administered.::

::In other news…::

Shirley lowered the volume on the television as she looked at everyone in the room; grateful they were all here in one piece. After she had heard Annie and Jeff were captured she had prayed that they made it out all right. When they returned with Britta she had almost fainted with relief. Not caring how late it was they had broken out champagne in celebration and listened as the three of them retold what happened at the warehouse. They only paused in their festivities just after dawn when the news report came on.

They all looked as Chang, who was the only truly drunk one of the group, staggered up and started doing a horrible rendition of krumping. "You are aware other people can see you doing this, right?" Jeff said.

"I don't care Winger. I feel goooood. I'm out of jail and my name is cleared. I can do whatever I want. How changtastic is that? Maybe I'll become a superhero. Or even a supervillian. Why knows. I can do whatever I want. Chang is in the house. Yea yea yea yea."

He took another swig from his champagne bottle before falling to the floor and passing out.

"And on that note." Jeff said as Shirley grabbed the bottle before it stained the carpet. "As uneasy as I feel about him out there, I'd rather have this Chang then the crazy cat man one."

They all nodded as Abed looked at the group. "Well, now that we've all got caught up, I have some more good news for us. As you know one of the hospital orderlies has been keeping tabs for me. He called to tell me that earlier tonight_."

"They called about Troy!" Shirley gleefully yelled, unable to contain herself.

Abed smiled at his wife's outburst as the rest of them looked on in wonder. "Wait, what? You mean Troy regained consciousness?

"No, nothing that big Britta. But they said there were changes with his brainwaves showing that he could sense that others were in the room when the staff came to check up on him. The orderly said that while it's still early, this is a very good sign that he'll regain consciousness."

"Abed, that's great." Jeff said.

A huge smile spread over Annie's face as excitement flooded her body. "That's fantastic. Troy's going to be ok. YAAOW!" She winced as she felt her bandaged side. After Abed examined her injury his best estimate was that the bullet, after being slowed down slightly from the leather in her outfit, bounced off her ribs and flew out of her before being caught in her outfit. He said it was luck "that couldn't be repeated again if you tried a million times." He had used the Essence of Dittany solution to heal the wound, but it was only designed for skin and not broken bones. The best they could do was tape up her ribs and wait for them to heal on their own.

Jeff looked at Annie with concern. "You ok?"

"Yea. It just hurts when I laugh. Or move much. I might have to take a break for a few weeks."

"After tonight I think Greendale can afford not having your crime fighting actions for a little while." Jeff said as he opened another Champaign bottle and refilled everyone's glass. "I think a few toasts are in order. First, to Abed and Shirley, who's tireless effort made it possible for Rich and his band of drug dealers to be finally taken down."

Abed and Shirley smiled as they all took a drink of Champaign.

"To Britta, who because of your timely arrival are the reason Annie and I are here right now." Jeff rolled his eyes as Britta cleared her throat and held up her cat. "Fine. And, do I have to say his name? Ok, ok. And to Captain Whiskers, who also played a part in our rescue."

Britta silently raised her glass to Jeff as they all took a drink.

"To Annie, for not only saving my life, but for being one of the greatest heroes the streets of Greendale has."

Annie looked affectionately at Jeff as they drank their Champaign.

"And at the risk of sounding vain, to myself, for playing a part in all of this. And for finally getting to kick Rich's ass."

"Well actually, it was more like he-."

"Finish that sentence Britta and I'll never speak to you again. Finally, I'd like to propose a toast to Troy. May you have a speedy recovery and be back among us very soon."

As they toasted Jeff and Troy Annie stood up. "I'd also like to propose a toast. To Pierce. While you didn't always know how to show it you cared for us all greatly. And while you were taken from us all too soon, your teachings and memories remain with us forever. And I'd like to think your still with us, watching over us."

They all solemnly raised their glasses as they toasted their dear friend. As they drained the last of their Champaign Abed cocked his head to the side. "Since we're all up how about we watch a movie? I vote for Kick Puncher 6, where Kick Puncher travels back in time to ensure that King John signs the Magna Carter."

Annie looked over at Jeff. "Jeff, can I speak to you please? Alone."

Jeff followed Annie into Abed and Shirley's office as she closed the door. "Jeff, after everything that's happened tonight I feel we need to talk. I'm going to be honest with you. After what you told me what you did to Annie Kim, I was disgusted. I could barely look at you. I thought, how could I be with someone who would do something like that."

"Annie…"

"But then we were at the warehouse, and I saw Rich standing over you about to kill you. And as I saw that I felt what you must have felt when you knew Annie Kim was going to try and kill me. You loved me so much that you would do anything to protect me. I realize that because I would have done anything to protect you. When I attacked him I was prepared to do whatever I had to do. And it wasn't out of vengeance or anything like that. It was to save the man I love."

Jeff felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. He had been terrified that if she found out what he did she would never want anything to do with him. But knowing she understood why he did what he did was an enormous relief.

Before he could speak Annie took hold of his hands. "Jeff, I know you broke up with me because if we were together those we fought could find out and use it as a way to hurt us. And you were right, us not being together is the safer choice. But we put our lives on the line every night we go out there as Bright Eyes and ATL. We both know there's always a chance we might not come back. And if I'm going to risk my life fighting for justice, I went to spend that time with someone I love. I would rather take the risk and be happy with you then be safe but miserable."

Jeff slowly smiled as Annie grinned back at him "Ok. But as your boyfriend I do have one request to make." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Can you keep the red hair? And your new outfit."

"You always had a thing for redheads."

"I have a thing for you. The hair is just a nice bonus." He didn't care if it sounded cheesy. He was speaking his heart no matter how it sounded. He leaned down as he gently kissed her.

They both jumped as a loud knock came from the other side of the door. "Are you two ok?" Shirley called out from behind the door. "You're not canoodling or anything back there, are you?"

"Yes Shirley. We're naked and putting on a web show."

"Jeff! He's kidding Shirley. We just got back together."

"OH, that's nice! Does that mean we'll be hearing wedding bells soon?"

Jeff and Annie looked at each other, laughing at the mention of marriage before their laughter faded as the thought didn't seem as farfetched as they thought.

"Maybe someday." Annie quietly said to Jeff.

**The End **

**Reviews are welcome.**


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